The Best Classic Arcade Games Video Games
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The Best Classic Arcade Games By   [9 more lists]

The best classic arcade games include not only the big, big, BEEG cabinet coin-op arcade games from the crazy 80s, but also many of the best video games of all time. Now played on tiny portable handheld consoles or popular home consoles with wireless controllers and Internet compatibility, modern video games evolved from these classic favorites.

These are the games that many of us remember pumping quarters into as a child as we vowed to beat that high score in the likes of Frogger or Ms. Pac-Man or sought to reach the final castle in Super Mario Bros.

Many of the classic games here left such a lasting impression from their time in the giant arcade versions that they were later released on smaller platforms like the original Nintendo Entertainment System or remade decades later for platforms like the Nintendo Wii.

Similarly, with titles like Paperboy and Donkey Kong, many of the titles spawned sequels or full series of games. Though a far cry from today's games with 3D graphics and graphic violence, these classic games remind us of a simpler time when titles like Pong or Asteroids were enough to entertain us for a few hours. Ah, the good old days!
List Inspired by bri's 1970s Arcade Videogames list.

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Rank     Name Release Genre Developer
  1. 1
    Up 23
    Jan 01 1979
    Maze
    Namco
  2. 2
    Up 25
    Jan 01 1981
    Platform game
    Nintendo
  3. 3
    Up 26
    Jan 01 1981
    Science Fiction, Shoot 'em up, Space Invaders, Space combat
    Namco
  4. 4
    Up 22
    Jan 01 1982
    Maze
    Midway Games, General Computer Corp.
  5. 5
    Up 20
    Jun 01 1978
    Shoot 'em up, Space combat
    Taito Corporation
  6. 6
    Up 18
    Jan 01 1981
    Action game
    Konami
  7. 7
    Up 17
    Jan 01 1982
    Namco
  8. 8
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1984
    World War II, Scrolling shooter, Shoot 'em up
    Capcom
  9. 9
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1979
    Shoot 'em up
    Namco
  10. 10
    Up 17
    Jan 01 1983
    Platform game
    Nintendo
  11. 11
    Up 12
    Jan 01 1979
    Shoot 'em up, Space combat
    Atari
  12. 12
    Up 12
    Jan 01 1980
    Shoot 'em up
    Williams
  13. 13
    Up 13
    Jan 01 1984
    Platform game, Action game, Racing game, Puzzle game, Isometric projection More
    Atari Games
  14. 14
    Up 13
    Jan 01 1986
    Platform game
    Taito Corporation
  15. 15
    Up 13
    Jan 01 1980
    Shoot 'em up
    Atari
  16. 16
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1983
    Simulation video game, Shoot 'em up
    Atari, Atari, Inc
  17. 17
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1982
    Platform game
    Nintendo
  18. 18
    Up 10
    Nov 29 1972
    Sports game, Pong
    Atari
  19. 19
    Up 11
    Jan 01 1985
    Action game, Maze, Hack and slash, Run and gun
    Atari Games
  20. 20
    Up 11
    Jan 01 1982
    Midway Games
  21. 21
    Up 11
    Jul 01 1980
    Shoot 'em up
    Atari, Atari, Inc
  22. 22
    Up 11
    Jan 01 1986
    Action game, Breakout
    Taito Corporation
  23. 23
    Up 11
    Jan 01 1982
    Platform game, Puzzle game, Isometric projection
    Gottlieb
  24. 24
    Up 12
    Jan 01 1983
    Racing game, Vehicular combat game
    Midway Games
  25. 25
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1982
    Puzzle game
    Data East
  26. 26
    Up 10
    Puzzle game
    Nintendo Research & Development 1, Blue Planet Software
  27. 27
    Up 10
    Oct 31 1998
    Shoot 'em up
    Atari, Leaping Lizard
  28. 28
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1986
    Platform game, Action game
  29. 29
    Jan 01 1982
    Racing game
    Namco
  30. 30
    Jan 01 1976
    Arcade game
    Atari, Atari, Inc
  31. 31
    Jan 01 1983
    Action game, Action-adventure game
    Atari, Atari, Inc
  32. 32

    1943

  33. 33
    Up 10
    Jan 01 1982
    Platform game
    Williams
  34. 34
    Jan 01 1984
    Sports game
    Nintendo
  35. 35
    Jan 01 1984
    Platform game, Action game
    Atari Games
  36. 36
    Jan 01 1982
    Platform game
    Activision
  37. 37
    Jan 01 1982
    Puzzle game
    Banpresto, Coreland
  38. 38
    Jan 01 1985
    Shoot 'em up, Run and gun
    Capcom
  39. 39
    Jan 01 1982
    Shoot 'em up, Run and gun, Vehicular combat game
    Irem
  40. 40
    Jan 01 1983
    Platform game, Action game, Side-scrolling
    Taito Corporation
  41. 41
    Jan 01 1983
    Action game, Interactive movie
  42. 42
    Jan 01 1980
    Shoot 'em up, Run and gun
    Stern
  43. 43
    Jan 01 1984
    Fighting game
    Technos Japan Corporation
  44. 44
    Simulation video game, Vehicle simulation game
    Atari, Atari, Inc
  45. 45
    Jan 01 1982
    Shoot 'em up
    Vid Kidz
  46. 46
    Jan 01 1987
    Beat 'em up, Side-scrolling
    Technos Japan Corporation
  47. 47
    Jan 01 1982
    Scrolling shooter, Shoot 'em up
    Namco
  48. 48
    Jan 01 1986
    Shoot 'em up, Run and gun
    SNK Playmore
  49. 49
    Jan 01 1983
    Platform game, Puzzle game
    Douglas E. Smith
  50. 50
    Jan 01 1982
    Platform game
    Nintendo
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